ANOTHER case of pseudo-monas, the infection which has killed three babies in a Belfast hospital, was confirmed last night.

Northern Health Minister Edwin Poots earlier revealed that the infection had been traced to taps in the neo-natal unit at the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital .

All the taps and connected pipe work in the room are to be removed as experts try to eradicate all traces of the pseudomonas bacteria, Mr Poots told the Stormont Assembly.

"I can report that investigations so far have shown that pseudomonas bacteria have been found in a number of taps in the intensive care area of the neo-natal unit," Mr Poots said.

"The (Belfast) Trust Health Estates team are in the process of removing and replacing all taps and related pipework in the affected area. There is no evidence of pseudomonas in the water system. This indicates that it is likely to be a localised problem."

An outbreak of a different strain of pseudomonas in Derry's Altnagelvin Hospital last month, which claimed the life of one baby, was also linked to the water system in its neo-natal facilities.